It is spring now. In many regions there are gardens already planted and some even being harvested. In others they are waiting for the last freeze before planting the precious seeds that will produce such wonderful fruits and vegetables. But, what this prompt is springing up to be will be about the other part of the season that characterizes that is it truly spring. Rain. Rain. And more rain. For days it can rain. You hear the constant drip of water coming off of the buildings. The drops of rain being swished about on your windshields. And the need for rainboots and raincoats and umbrellas. How can rain become a prompt?
Well, in some regions a little rain is all they get. Those places suffer from drought. The ground dries up and cracks open. Use this as an analogy for your life. Write about the times in your life that you suffered from a drought. A drought of happy, positive feelings. A drought of successful relationships. A drought of finances. A drought of good health. The list can go on and on. In your writing about the droughts write about how these things were drying up and then write how you were able to come out of the desert and into the nourishing green you are in today (if you are in that today that is). If you are still suffering from the cracks in your life write how you can begin to overcome that drought. And then do it. Always remember the Lord is the Living Water and all you have to do is come to Him and He will provide the nourishment you need to heal the dry, cracked life you have found yourself in. Look up verses about Jesus, the Living Water. Find verses how life was like a desert but water provided it to be a living oasis. Write these verses in your journal and use for encouragement.
Some regions get just enough rain to provide the ground with life giving water. Those regions flourish in flora and gardens are sure to grow into healthy, wholesome food sources. Are you at a time in your life when you are doing just fine? Are you happy and not suffering from lack of water? The water one needs to survive a non depressing life? Isn't it depressing to see a garden that is unattended? Isn't it depressing to see a flower garden where the flowers are wilting and dying? Is your life like the flower garden that is full of color and flowers standing tall? Is your life like the fruit and vegetable garden that has received the right amount of rain and watering to make it thrive? Sometimes people tend to write in their journals when things are going wrong and they pray to the Lord to help through those undernourished times. But when things are going good and right and there is a constant flow of life-giving water, they forget to praise the Lord about it and so why not do that in your post? Make an entry of praises and thanksgiving.
Sometimes the weather in spring provides more than enough rain. It will rain for days. If it is just a sprinkle of rain each day, that is not so bad. If it is drizzling all day long it makes for a drizzle day. If it doesn't quit raining people are stuck indoors. Is your life like a sprinkle or drizzle? Are you stuck indoors? Is your life stuck in a rut? Can you not go outside without being rained on? Are you being rained upon with too much stress? Too many problems? Too many burdens? Write about these things that are making life drizzle misery on you. Find books that will take those moments away for the length of your reading. Write about the books on how they helped you. And find the many in the Bible who overcame the constant drip, drip, drip of life and found the love of Jesus. Let the Word of God be your constant drip of love, help, sanity, and salvation.
There are many days in spring that you know when you wake up it will be raining. When you get ready for bed it will be raining still. Days of rain makes some very blue and depressed. Are you a person who loves the outdoors and gets sad when it rains so much you cannot go out and do the things you love? Write about the things you love to do outdoors. Write what you do when you can't go outside. Write what you can do to overcome the blues until the sky dries up and you can once again visit the beautiful outdoors. Write about how blue skies and fluffy white clouds make you feel.
On those days when it rains and rains and rains, use the time to read books you have not finished. Start a book you have been wanting to read but never had the time. Watch a tv program you enjoy. Rent a movie you would not have expected to watch if it hadn't been raining. Now, write about the books you got to read and the shows and movies you got to watch. And just think it would not have happened if you were not stuck indoors.
Now let's talk about those days when regions get too much rain. You see it on the news. Flooding. Areas get flooded and lives get devastated. Houses get ruined or completely destroyed. Towns get completely flooded. Roads become impassable. Families are detached from one another. Lives are separated from what was once the norm. And then almost as quick as the floods came up, the water recedes and all that is left is the cleaning and rebuilding. Is your life like the rising floods? Do you feel as if you are treading water and cannot touch the ground without going under? Are you fearing you may drown in the water that is overflowing the sand bags you have placed around the boundaries you have built? Are you trying to bale out the water that is entering faster than you expected? Write about these things and how you are feeling.
Has your life been effected by an actual flood? Do you know people who have been in a flood? Write how these actual floods made an impact in your life today. Write how you were able to clean up, rebuild and move on. Read about the famous flood written about in the Bible. We have seen the effects of the tsunamis in Japan and other places. Noah was involved in the ultimate tsunami flood. Rewrite the story in the Bible using you and your family as the lucky ones to be on the Ark. God has provided you with an ark of your own. It is called salvation and can be read about all through the Bible.
Now, are you involved in a relationship that is like a tsunami? Do you wake up each day and feel as if you are in a flood caused by a hurricane named LIFE? Have you found yourself on a road that has a flash flood and your life is being swept away with no help in sight? Are the waters rapidly rising in your life that are causing you to float out of reach from family and friends? Are you drowning in the flood waters with no lifesaving device available? Are you on the roof of your house waiting for rescuers to come and you are afraid time is running out? Find time to describe these moments in your journal and how you expect to overcome them.
The Lord used a flood to destroy sin and begin anew. When the rain stopped and the water scattered and receded, Noah and his family and the animals were able to walk on dry land. Are you feeling condemnation over some sin in your life? Allow the floods to wash away that sin and you will be able to come out clean and alive and new. New due to forgiveness. Use the flood of this proportion to prompt you to write about it and its effects. Write how the Lord has provided you with a ray of hope and forgiveness. Also a part of the story besides the flood was the rainbow. It is the symbol of God's promise. What has brought a rainbow of promises and hope to your life? Write about them in your journal.
Spring also brings more than rain and floods to many regions. It brings the threat of tornadoes. A tornado cannot be stopped. It can be predicted to happen. There are tornado warnings and watches. They can predict when it can arrive in a certain town within minutes. But what the meteorologists can't do is stop it from happening. Everyday in the states involved in tornado alley prepare for the chance of a tornado. Have you ever experienced a tornado in your hometown? Have you been in one yourself? Write how these moments were spent and how you felt. Write what you did to survive. Tornadoes are not prejudice. They will form over the rich as well as the poor side of town. They will destroy one house and skip three only to destroy the next six. They will destroy an entire mobile home park. They will destroy the mighty oak and leave a toilet stool intact. Tornadoes will take a child out of a mother's arms. Tornadoes will shred a house to look like toothpicks. I have seen shreds of insulation embedded in a tree trunk. The devastation a tornado leaves behind is indescribable. But what happens after a tornado leaves its destructive path behind is amazing. People bind together. When there seems to be nothing left behind to salvage relationship and friendships get stronger. Families hug more. And intangible "things" are no longer as important. What is important is your relationship with the Lord. He saves so many lives and those are the things you can write about in your journal. If you have been in such a situation as these mentioned write about it.
Is your life spinning out of control like a twister in the spring that suddenly appears in the once clear sky? Are you finding yourself out in the open in the direct path of the tornado? Is your life so dark due to the harshness of the weather conditions that you don't see the tornado heading your way? Have you not heeded the warnings? Did you decide it wasn't important to watch for the signs of doom coming? What has made your life this way? Write about these conditions and what you can do about it. God's Word is better than any warning the meteorologists' radars can provide. When you find yourself in a tornadic situation run for safety. Find a storm shelter through reading verses and discover other people in the Bible who have lived destructive lives. Write about how they overcame the negative results of the tornado in their life and how you can relate it to your survival. Write the aftereffects and what life dealt you in ways you were not aware of. Out of the rubble left behind the tornado in your life what have you found to be salvageable? Are you relationships, friendships, and family ties stronger because of the storm you had to endure? Are you prepared for life's tornadoes that could unexpectedly appear at any time? Remember God is your shelter in the storm. His Word says so.
Other characteristics of spring during rain is a good old fashioned thunderstorm. Thunder and lightning. Crackling sounds. Bright lights filtering through the sky. And the downpour of rain. Lightning has killed many people. Thunderstorms can cause fear for those who experience tornadoes. Thunderstorms can cause torrential down pouring of rain, which bring the fear of flooding. Is there something that has caused the loud sounds of thunder to drown out the voice of the Lord in your life? Write to the Lord how you need to come out of the rain so you can hear His voice. Has lightning struck your life and split your life in two? Has the lightning caused your life to go haywire with the tragedy of electrocution? Is there anything that is so electrifying in your life it has caused you heart to stop? God has included fore warnings of the effects of sin in the Bible. Do a search of these warnings and write how you will heed to them.
We have written about the storms that come to people's lives. We need to learn from the storms and not live in fear of them. Where they leave destruction, the Lord can give you hope. Hope to clean up, rebuild, and see the rainbow. Write about how the rain provides growth. Growth where there was nothing left. Growth when you don't expect nothing positive from the storm. See the green in your life where there was once a brown, withering hopeless life. Write how you have grown through the help of the Lord's provision.
Remember when you hear the drip, drip, drip of rain that the Lord is in each of those droplets. The Lord is in the storm. The Lord is providing you shelter in the storm and He will be there to help you rebuild. Look for the rainbows He provides. And go walking with the Lord in the rain. It will be refreshing and nourishing to your spiritual life. May you know when to come out of the rain. May you know when your life needs the sustaining of Jesus's Living Water. And always remember God has made a promise. Talk with Him today of that promise and see how the streams will flood your life with salvation and forgiveness.
